Blind Goals

"Thy Will Be Done"

~ Words spoken in the Our Father / Lord's Prayer
~ Words felt keenly by Christ in the garden of Gethsemane
~ Words that are very difficult to live by, especially when I am blind to what God's Will is in my life


It is one thing to know a goal - whether or not I agree with it, find it difficult or even impossible - and work my way through whatever obstacles and challenges to reach that goal. It is another thing entirely to not know that goal... but still work my way blindly forward to achieve it.

Why would I work toward a goal I do not see or understand? Why would God place such a goal in my hands and expect me to reach it?

Two reasons:

First, I am not God. I am not all-seeing, all-knowing; there is a much greater knowledge and understanding of what is going on in everything from my small, personal life to the vast reaches of all Creation.

So if I try to reach a goal - I'll be doing it MY way. Many times the ends does not justify the means. Many times what I will do to reach a goal will actually hinder my efforts - or worse - harm another or their efforts in obtaining their goals. There is often a better way of reaching the goal, even when I'm not aware of it.

That leads to the second reason: TRUST.

If I don't know where I'm going or - more precisely - what I need to do in this world, I need to learn to put more trust in God that I will be guided.

It is hard. I get in my own way time after time. Often I see a glimmer of what I think is the goal and I take reins back and say, "Thanks, I'll take it from here" and wind up misdirected.

But whenever I run into a dead-end, God is there - sometimes laughing at me; sometimes laughing with me - ready to take my outstretched hand and guide me again to His Will in my life.

Yes, there is also the risk of being misguided by others. That is where prayer helps - an open two-way communication - AND walking with my eyes open even though I don't see the distant goal ahead.

Just because I am blind to my life's goals doesn't mean I am blind about my own actions and what is happening around me. I still am responsible for my own actions, the words I speak / write, the works of my own hands, and the times I've stood aside and did nothing.

In addition to the two aforementioned reasons, I've just thought of another.... How many times have I worried, thought about, planned, dreamed and imagined what the future will be like - anything from what will happen in the far distant future to what will I have for lunch today? Too often.

In my mind I often live in the past or the future and fail to live in the NOW. To simply "BE" in my life. But that is where my life really should be lived; the rest is just in my head. The present is where the biggest impact is made in life - mine and how I impact the lives of others.

So I should learn from the past
Let God take care of the future
And put my Trust in His guidance

- ESA

Distractions

It's amazing how many distractions I can find in my life if I just sit back and take the time to notice that they are there. I've had several great topics I wanted to blog, friend's emails I wanted to reply to, friends and relatives I mean to call, time I need to spend with my husband... things that should get done but gets swept away by petty, little -- and sadly pointless -- distractions.

Distractions are little things I will turn my attention to instead of that which I should do. This can be a game, sudoku puzzle, surfing the internet aimlessly, reading a book, and many other things that, by themselves, aren't bad to indulge in but do not need to be done before that which should be done.

This will most often happens when I find that which I should do as difficult or uncomfortable. The distractions bring a sense of comfort, familiarity, fun or similar feelings. For example, in writing this blog alone, I have been distracted and have:

• written a list of other ideas to blog
• loaded a program on my boss' computer
• chatted with someone
• read other people's blogs
• watched videos posted on the internet
• looked up which founding father mentioned "an armed and educated populace" is an essential thing <-- and that one took a good chunk of time
  
  
• helped my boss look for a lost wallet
• written to someone about the "armed and educated populace" findings
• further chatted with people...

You get the idea... I was even having distractions distract me from the original distractions. LOL This has taken three hours of time wherein this blog (and the others on that list) could have been done.

What's wrong with distractions (other than not getting work done)? They can mislead us from what we should do, what we should hear, what we should see, where we should be. Like a child being led away with the promise of candy and fun times, we can let the little distractions that infiltrate our activities lead us away from what we should do in this life.

Distractions are little temptations. Temptation will not come in the form of a winged devil offering you the best the world can offer and all you have to do is say yes or no. It can come in the form of tiny little distractions, procrastinations and deviations that can lead us astray, one sidestep at a time.

In the end, when we look back on our lives, what will we see? Will we see the achievements we've accomplished, the good that we've done, the people that we have helped, or will we see all the little distractions that, in the end, really amount to nothing.

When I see what the little distractions can do in my life, I see where I need to shoulder my burdens a bit better and, like a quarterback with those really big shoulder-pads, take the treasure of the goal I wish to accomplish in my arms and plunge my way through all the little distractions that try to tackle me and take me down before I can reach my objective.

The ball is in your hands now.
Will you fumble
Or score

- ESA